I have been thinking about investing some of my student loan and in this blog post I’m going to share some of the research I’ve done. There are plenty of companies in Finland that provide investing services and there are a lot of options in how to invest. Finnish people have traditionally been investing through banking companies like Nordea or Osuuspankki but it has become more common to invest through online brokers such as Nordnet and Seligson & Co.

The first step to take is learning the fundamentals and risks of investing and what sort of return you should expect from your investments. Contrary to what many people might think, you don’t have to be rich to start investing. You can start small and then build up from that.

Index funds are a great option for people who don’t have enough time or interest to investigate companies for hours. It is nearly impossible for an average investor to beat the market. Many have heard about the great and fast returns of day trading but from what I have researched most of the time it doesn’t pay off. In addition to the difficulties of foreseeing the movements of stock prices, day trading can be expensive because most companies charge some money per trade. So in addition to the risk you are taking you are also paying extra costs which you have to make up for in return.

Most people would agree that you should be thinking long term when you invest. Don’t expect quick profits and be patient. The returns may not be mind-blowing at first but time is your best friend in investing and in 10 or 20 years the return should be at least twice what you invested.